Hydrogen Hybrid Bus

It’s cleaner, it’s greener and it’s the most technologically advanced bus in the world. The Hydrogen Hybrid bus is a new prototype that is currently traveling the country to prove the soundness of the concept. On its way back from San Antonio, the bus and a few of it’s developers stopped by Capital Metro today to give us a sneak preview. Within 12 months, this bus will be loaned to Capital Metro through the National Fuel Cell Bus Program. We’ll be able to put it into regular service for about nine months.

The electric bus is powered by rechargeable batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. It’s completely clean and only emits water vapor. The bus also uses regenerative braking which allows the bus to capture energy while slowing down or braking and use it to recharge the onboard batteries. This bus is 35 feet long, seats 37 people and is wheelchair accessible.

I was one of the lucky few to ride the bus downtown and back. It’s a quiet, smooth ride and it’ll turn some heads. It definitely caught the attention of many people as we drove through downtown and by the capitol.

The project is a joint effort by 16 organizations from private industry, education and the public sector. You can find out more about the bus at hydrogenhybridbus.com.

You may be wondering if Capital Metro is considering purchasing buses like this one. Well, the answer is maybe…in the future. Right now, this bus costs $1.5 million because the technology is so new. But in a few more years the technology will advance and the price will come down. Take the ipod for an example. Compare the new ipod Touch to the very first ipod, it seems almost archaic. And, the price has come down as the technology advanced.

This bus is a breakthrough in clean technology and maybe one day all of our buses will be just like this one, or even better.